Desert safari Dubai: 15 safaris compared by price, ride and dinner

Dune drive and a camp: four listings

The $30 safari goes to the Lahbab Desert for dune bashing, camel riding and sandboarding, with the quad bike described as optional: 4 hours, 4.9 across 45,209 reviews. The second $30 listing drives across the Red Dunes of Al Lahbab to a desert camp with BBQ and traditional entertainment, 4 to 7 hours, 4.9 across 22,800; its title sells the BBQ dinner and the quad biking as options. At $80 a 4WD takes you to a Bedouin camp with a falcon show, henna hand painting, a shisha pipe, optional camels and a BBQ beneath the stars, 6 to 6.5 hours, 4.6 across 1,190. At $127 the day is dune bashing, a camel, live performances and a gourmet BBQ dinner under the stars, 6 hours, 4.9 across 1,419.

Buggy safaris: five listings

The self-drive buggy at $76 is a high-speed ride on the dunes followed by a Bedouin camp with live shows; the BBQ dinner is optional, 4 to 6 hours, 4.9 across 1,892. The $153 red dune listing adds sand surfing, live shows and a BBQ buffet dinner, 4 to 7 hours, 4.9 across 2,183. The Can-Am buggy safari at $256 ends with an optional BBQ dinner at a camp, 4 to 7 hours, 4.9 across 1,656. For $245 you get a 1000cc buggy, rock formations, a slide down the dunes and a camel at the end, with round-trip private transportation written into the description, 4 hours, 4.9 across 246. The Can-Am X3 at $370 is self-drive behind a guide who leads the convoy, 1 to 2 hours, 4.9 across 161; that price is per buggy, not per person.

Heritage safaris in a vintage Land Rover

Three listings trade speed for culture. The $216 heritage safari rides in 1950s vintage vehicles to a Bedouin camp with cultural performances and dinner, 7 hours, 4.8 across 887. At the same $216 the heritage camel safari crosses the dunes by camel, with falconry, bread-making demonstrations and a traditional dinner, 7 hours, 4.9 across 80. The overnight version costs $325: a 1950s Land Rover, a falcon show, dinner at a Bedouin camp, a night in traditional stone-dwelling rooms and a gourmet breakfast, 20 hours, 4.9 across 36 reviews.

Sunrise, the night sky and the four-course dinner

The sunrise jeep safari at $53 is a 4WD ride across the dunes with a picnic breakfast and a visit to Al Qudra Lakes, 4 hours, 4.7 across 1,805. The $531 safari is a wildlife drive in a Land Rover Defender, a falconry show and a four-course dinner the description calls Michelin-starred, 7 hours, 4.8 across 46. The $814 private night safari looks for nocturnal animals with UV lights from a vintage Land Rover, then serves a three-course dinner with tales about the starry sky, 5 hours, 4.6 across 27 reviews.

Two descriptions use the words. The $30 safari lists dune bashing first, ahead of the camel and the sandboard, and the $127 safari opens with a dune bashing experience on golden red dunes. Three more describe the same kind of drive without the phrase: the second $30 listing drives across the Red Dunes of Al Lahbab, the $80 safari is a 4WD adventure among golden dunes, and the $53 sunrise safari rides a 4WD across the sand at first light.

So a Dubai desert safari dune bashing ride costs from $30 to $127 on these listings, and the price gap is the camp and the dinner, not the dunes. The Dubai desert safari dunes that are named are the Lahbab Desert and the Red Dunes of Al Lahbab; the other descriptions say Arabian desert, red dunes or golden dunes without a place name. If you would rather hold the wheel than sit behind the driver, that is the buggy group, from $76.

The evidence sits at the bottom of the price list. The two $30 safaris hold 68,009 of the 79,637 reviews on this page, and both are rated 4.9. Paying more does not buy a better score: ten of the fifteen are rated 4.9, and the two lowest ratings, 4.6, belong to the $80 camp safari and the $814 night safari.

What more money buys is a different day. At $76 you drive a buggy instead of riding in a 4WD. At $216 the vehicle is a 1950s Land Rover and the evening is a Bedouin camp with cultural performances. At $531 the dinner has four courses. The samples thin out as the price rises: 46 reviews at $531, 36 for the overnight, 27 at $814. Those are promising numbers on thin evidence, next to tens of thousands at the low end.

One thing to know before choosing by time of day: anyone hoping for Dubai desert safari dunes sunset pictures should read the listing first, because the word sunset is in none of the fifteen descriptions. What is written is sunrise, on the $53 jeep safari, and dinner beneath or under the stars on three others. If the day out matters more than the sand, the $42 Abu Dhabi day is compared with the other trips out of the city.